www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 15, 2013 | 6 Editorial Some food for thought "The food bank was as empty as I had ever seen it." Those were the words of a disappointed Oakville Fareshare food bank volunteer president Nancy Bromberg referring to the results of the 2012 Easter food drive. The non-pro t organization had the poorest response to its Easter drive it had seen in years. As the Fareshare food bank begins its 2013 Easter food drive today, we know Oakville can do a whole lot better. With a long stretch before the Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives, the Easter drive is considered one of the food bank's most crucial collection, as the donations must last a good six months. Not sure how much of a need there is in Oakville? Last year, the Fareshare food bank served an average of 364 families per month -- about 1,200 people, nearly half of which were children. "We served 38 additional children in 2012 compared to 2011 -- a gure that is especially sad and distressing," Bromberg told the Beaver. "After the Easter food drive, we hope to see our warehouse full so all our families will receive a full order of groceries on each of their monthly visits." Fareshare organizers and volunteers will be the rst to admit it would be a cause for celebration to announce the closing of the local food bank due to a lack of need. But that, sadly, isn't the case -- poverty does exist in Oakville and the demand for food is evergrowing. Many recipients are the working poor or those who have been caught in a nancial squeeze. During the Easter food drive, non-perishable food can be dropped off at most Oakville grocery stores, at all re stations and at the food bank, 1240 Speers Rd., Unit 6. The food bank will be open from 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. throughout the drive. On the list of most-needed items are peanut butter, rice, pasta, hot and cold breakfast cereal, diapers (sizes 5 and 6, only) and a variety of tinned foods and fruit -- a complete list of most needed items can be found online at www.oakvillefoodbank. com. Monetary donations are always welcome and tax receipts will be provided. Let's ensure in 2013, Fareshare has the most generous response it has seen in years. Those who are able, must all pitch in so the food bank doesn't run out of goods before Thanksgiving -- the more donations the food bank gets, the more it can give to those in need. "Connected to your Community" 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Fax: (905) 337-5566 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 32 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS Worth more words than there is space Craig MacBride Oakville Beaver guest columnist My View MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager R od Jerred, who spent 30 years at the Oakville Beaver and died the morning of March 2, was my rst editor. He would have wanted it written that he had died. It's standard practice in journalism to say "died" or "dead" instead of "passed away" or "no longer with us." "We're not polite," Rod once told me when I slipped up early in my career. "We're reporters." I was 23 years old in 2003 when I met Rod. I wrote freelance arts and entertainment articles for him for a few months before he hired me as an intern. Once the internship ended, he fought for a budget increase to keep me on staff. It was the rst time someone had fought for me in that way. Rod then spent two years alternating between giving me enough rope to hang myself and saving me once I had my head in the noose. That was his genius as an editor, and it's one of the reasons his reporters loved him. He wasn't one for restrictions. Instead of telling his reporters how much space there was to ll in the paper, he would say, "Write what it's worth." That's the phrase I'll always remember when I think of Rod. Write what it's worth. If it was good enough, Rod would nd space. If it wasn't -- and it often wasn't in my early days -- he would chop it apart and re-assemble it until it was good enough. Then he'd explain his method, and, if you wanted, he'd argue about it with you, and occasionally he'd let you win, smiling his amazing smile, proud of you for nally beating him. He loved to watch his reporters grow. I arrived as an idiot kid over-writing features. Rod quickly tightened up my meandering prose and forced me to expand my repertoire to news stories. After embarrassing myself in my rst interview with a politician (former Oakville MP Bonnie Brown), I started reading politics more closely, learning my political history, and Rod noticed this. He let me take on articles to explore politics, to learn how the system worked, and, before either of us was sure I was ready, he let me lead the coverage of the 2004 federal election, as well as the gay marriage debate that was raging at the time. 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